-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The suspect in the killing of Yale pharmacology graduate student Annie Le appeared in court in New Haven , Connecticut , Tuesday , but did not enter a plea , his attorney told CNN .

Raymond J. Clark III appears in court Tuesday in New Haven , Connecticut , where he is charged with murder .

Raymond Clark III , 24 , a lab technician at Yale , is charged with murder in Le 's death . Tuesday 's scheduled hearing was continued until October 20 .

It is standard procedure for defendants in murder cases not to enter a plea until a later stage in the case , public defender Beth Merkin told CNN . Clark eventually will plead not guilty , she said .

Clark , of Branford , Connecticut , is being held in lieu of $ 3 million bail .

The body of Le , 24 , was found inside a wall of a Yale lab building on September 12 -- the day she was to be married . She had been strangled , the Connecticut medical examiner 's office determined .

Clark is not a Yale student , but has worked as a lab technician at the university since 2004 . He lived with his girlfriend , who also is a Yale lab technician , according to New Haven police . Follow a timeline of the case ''

A Yale faculty member described Clark 's job as maintaining colonies for animals used in research . The lab is in the basement of the building where Le 's body was found .

A motive in Le 's killing was unclear , but police said they were treating the case as workplace violence .

Yale has announced a memorial service for Le on October 12 . The university is also establishing a scholarship in her memory .

Le was buried in California on September 26 .

`` You were born in my loving embrace , '' said Le 's mother , Vivian Van Le , reading a poem she 'd written in Vietnamese to those gathered for the funeral at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in El Dorado Hills .

Her son and Annie Le 's brother , Chris Le , provided a translation .

`` The most wonderful gift that God had sent to me . ... You left life at too young an age , at the beginning of many great things . All the dreams and hopes of your future gone with you to your resting place , '' Vivian Van Le said , according to her son .

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NEW : Yale employee Raymond Clark defers plea , attorney says

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NEW : Deferring plea is common practice in similar cases , lawyer says

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Clark and victim Annie Le were co-workers at university laboratory

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Le 's body was found in wall of lab building on day she was to be married